Choreography, Cover, Competition
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day one hundred and twenty-two: ABCs #3 Six teams, six duos... it's on!


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a second cycle, and then a third, fourth, and fifty cycle. Now here's cycle 6!_

_Walking through a bookstore back in december, I saw the series of books by Sue Grafton that go "A is for...," "B is for...," etc, and I got the idea for this set. It will spread over the end of cycle 6, and carry through cycles 7 and 8, to be posted on alternating days. [And by the time we reach the end, Glee will be a week away!!] What I did is I found three words for each letter that would have some significance to Glee, and I built a plot around it. You with me? Okay, here we go...  
**3 of 26: C is for...**_

* * *

**"Choreography, Cover, Competition"  
Will & New Directions  
* To be pursued in future cycles, stay tuned! ***

They came into the room to find Mr. Schuester lining up chairs, six on one side, five on the other. It wasn't much to figure he had a plan in mind. As each would enter, he'd direct them on either side.

On the left went Mike and Matt, right went Puck and Artie. Left went Kurt, right went Tina. Left went Rachel, right went Finn and Mercedes. Left went Santana and Brittany, and right went Quinn.

"I know you're probably wondering what this is all about, so here it is." He picked up the hat, once again filled with name cards. "In here I have your names," he indicated the group on the left. "You'll be in charge of choreography in your pairs." The group looked pleased at that. "As for you guys on the right, you'll pick out your partner from the hat, and you'll be in charge of the music." There was approval once again. "Okay, here we go," he came to stand before them, holding out the hat. "Who's up first? Finn?" he offered. Finn nodded and stood to pick a card. He looked to the other group. Rachel looked anxious. But when he unfolded the card...

"Brittany," he read out, looking to the blonde. Mr. Schuester indicated for them both to stand behind him.

"Alright, who's next?" Mr. Schuester presented the hat once again. Mercedes got up next to pick a partner.

"Matt," she read, sounding both relieved and excited. He did too, as he stood to join her, next to Finn and Brittany. Tina was the next to go up and pick a name. She smirked.

"Kurt," she read. As they moved back, there was a quiet high five. Mr. Schuester looked back to the remaining members.

Quinn got up next. Part of her felt she'd be condemning her partner's choreographing efforts in her current condition. She opened her card and those concerns did not go away. "Mike." She looked at him… but he looked hopeful. So she relaxed.

"Alright, guys, last two pairs," Mr. Schuester approached Artie and Puck. On the other side, Rachel and Santana waited. "How do you want to do this?" Puck and Artie shared a look, and Artie waved Puck forth.

"Okay," he nodded, looking to the two girls as he stood. He picked out his card and opened it… "Santana," he looked over. She got up, looking uncertain. She wasn't the only one.

Alone on her side, Rachel looked to the other, where Artie sat, also on his own, therefore her partner in this activity. Their gazes crossed, both knowing what was going through Rachel's mind.

They had one week to prepare, and then they had their performance. The first to go up were Quinn and Mike. Rather than having her move around too much, the separation of tasks was taken to heart. Quinn sat poised on the steps, singing the song while Mike moved about her, the target to her song.

_[Q] "You come on with your come-ons, you don't fight fair / That's O.K., see if I care! / Knock me down, it's all in vain / I'll get right back on my feet again!_

_Hit Me With Your Best Shot! / Why Don't You Hit Me With Your Best Shot! / Hit Me With Your Best Shot! / Fire Away!"_

When they were done, Mike helped her up and they returned to their seats to the others' applause. Next up were Finn and Brittany. They stood side by side, following the music in their simple choreography – 'Finn-proof' as Brittany had called it. She backed him up as he sang.

_[F] "But things just get so crazy / Living life gets hard to do / And I would gladly hit the road / Get up and go if I knew / That someday it would lead me back to you / That someday it would lead me back to you_

_[F, B] That may be all I need / In darkness she is all I see / Come and rest your bones with me / Driving slow on Sunday morning / And I never want to leave"_

As they took their seats, they crossed Rachel and Artie, who had their turn next. Finn saw she didn't look as put off as he thought she'd be. She looked confident. Later, she'd told him if silence had its place, so did stillness. Artie parked himself in the middle of the room, and Rachel brought a chair to sit at his side. Each took part in their song.

_[R] "Well Your faith was strong but you needed proof / You saw her bathing on the roof / Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you / she tied you to her kitchen chair / And she broke your throne and she cut your hair / And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah / Hallelujah / Hallelujah / Hallelujah / Hallelujah."_

_[A] "Well baby I've been here before / I've seen this room and I've walked this floor / I used to live alone before I knew ya / I've seen your flag on the marble arch / Love is not a victory march / It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah / Hallelujah / Hallelujah / Hallelujah / Hallelujah."_

Under the applause, they returned to the audience, while Tina and Kurt took up the next spot. When the song started, the audience looked surprised, not expecting this song from them… it was kind of the intention.

_[T] "And there are voices that want to be heard / So much to mention but you can't find the words / The scent of magic, the beauty that's been / When love was wilder than the wind._

_[T, K] Listen to your heart / When he's calling for you / Listen to your heart / There's nothing else you can do / I don't know where you're going / And I don't know why / But listen to your heart / Before oh…"_

As unexpected as it was, it was a success. They returned to their seats, pleased with themselves, as Matt and Mercedes took up the second to last post. It was one of the livelier performances that day. Being a duet, the song was easy to split. Mercedes and Matt benefited from each of their skills, and their friendship as well.

_[Ma] "All I got is concrete all around Me... Wooo... / But I can see the countryside... / You can be rich when you're poor... / Poor when you're rich... / It can be raining and I can make the sun shine... _

_[Ma, Me] I got it you got it we got the (Wooo) magic girl... / I got it (You know / You got it baby) You got it, We got the magic girl / I got it (I've got it baby) You got it, We got the magic girl / I got it (You know I got it baby) You got it, We got the magic girl."_

The audience was hollering for them in the end, and they were smiling as they went back to take their seats. There was only one team left, and it would seem a tough act to follow. But Puck and Santana, they were ready to bring down the house. Puck led the vocals with strength, but Santana was halfway between co-lead and back-up. As soon as they started, they had them all.

_[P] "Whoa! You're a loaded gun / Whoa! There's nowhere to run / No one can save me / [P, S] The damage is done_

_[P, S] Shot through the heart / And you're to blame / You give love a bad name / I play my part / And you play your game / You give love a bad name / You give love... a bad name."_

The last song done, Mr. Schuester applauded his whole group, glad to see how much they had embraced the exercise, knowing some of their previous random pairings had ended up. For his part, he loved to see new pairings being made, new collisions of minds, of creative standpoints. And here it had worked out. Everyone had their say, everyone had their part.

THE END


End file.
